UOG, G3 start Sustainable September with proclamation highlighting partnerships for the SDGs
UOG, G3 start Sustainable September with proclamation highlighting partnerships for the SDGs
UOG, G3 start Sustainable September with proclamation highlighting partnerships for the SDGs
9/12/2025
The University of Guam, Guam Green Growth (G3), and partners launched Sustainable September with a proclamation signing, highlighting the multi-sectoral efforts that laid the foundation for the islands’ progress in achieving the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.
Sustainable September’s month-long activities are organized by G3 and the UOG Center
for Island Sustainability and Sea Grant, including the proclamation signing at the
Governor's Complex in Adelup.
At the signing, UOG President Anita Borja Enriquez, DBA, lauded G3’s efforts in pioneering
an initiative that promotes collaboration in attaining the UN SDGs, saying that sustainability
is a collective responsibility.
“It is not just a concept but really it is a movement. We have seen this through the collective efforts of our partners across government, nonprofit, private sectors, and individuals, and how through the efforts of the Guam Green Growth initiative, we are building capacity in the workforce,” Borja Enriquez said.
Enriquez co-chairs the G3 initiative alongside Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero, who also remarked
on the momentum of the G3 movement in creating greater sustainability not only on
Guam but in the region by partnering with other island jurisdictions. The Governor
mentioned the recently created Green Growth initiatives in the Marshall Islands, Palau,
and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands as examples.
Meanwhile, UOG Center for Island Sustainability and Sea Grant Director Austin Shelton,
Ph.D., emphasized that sustainability has always been part of the way island communities
lived and interacted with each other, “For 4,000 years, sustainability has been ingrained
in island life. That’s why we are making a significant impact in everything we do;
sustainability is interdisciplinary, and everyone has a role to play.”
UOG Center for Island Sustainability and Sea Grant Associate Director for Communications
and Community Engagement Kyle Mandapat, MBA, stated that in addition to the signing
of the proclamation, Sustainable September’s month-long activities feature a lineup
that highlights these multi-sectoral partnerships, including tree-planting events
organized by the Guam Restoration of Watersheds (GROW) initiative at the Ugum watershed.
Other activities lined up for the month:
- Sept 17 - Maila Ta Fan Chesa, hosted by the Micronesian Chefs’ Association in partnership with the American Culinary
Federation and the UOG Center for Island Sustainability and Sea Grant. The event,
which will be held at the Hyatt Regency Guam, will feature locally sourced ingredients
and fish from UOG Sea Grant’s aquaculture systems, with proceeds supporting local
culinary students.
- Sept 20 –Guam’s 31st International Coastal Cleanup, starting 6:30 AM. The Guam Coastal Management Program organized the event. G3 and
the UOG Center for Island Sustainability and Sea Grant. will be assisting at the cleanup
sites in Adelup and Andersen Air Force Base.
- Sept 20– Sustainable Aquaculture Workshop, from 3–5 PM. Guåhan Sustainable Culture will host the workshop at the GSC Food Resiliency Hub in
Yona (former Hamamoto Gardens).
- Makerspace Workshops for September:
- Sept 25 – 3D Modeling & Printing Workshop, from 5 to 7 PM, at the G3 Makerspace and Innovation Hub.
- Sept 25 – Printmaking workshop, from 5 to 7 PM, with Joey Certeza at the G3 Makerspace and Innovation.
Sustainable September activities support the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,
which was adopted by the UN in 2015. This plan highlights the urgent need to address
key global sustainability challenges before the 2030 deadline for achieving the 17
UN SDGs.
Guam’s commitment to achieving the SDGs by 2030 was firmed up when it became a founding
member of Local2030 Islands Network in 2019. This network provides an island-led,
peer-to-peer platform to advance SDG progress, which eventually led to the launching
of G3